The Legend of Tommy Jo Sanchez

• Reading Review ( www.readingreview.com )

Tommy Jo "TJ" Sanchez lives in Mexico in 1883. Always looking for a better life, she steals the horse of a Mexican officer, El Capitan, heads north into Texas, and then west toward Arizona. While being chased by two Indians, she is saved by a Buffalo Soldier named Henry James. They part ways and she continues her journey, but she thinks of him often. Being a gambler, she continues west and heads into Arizona where she settles down in Tombstone, a town know for the gunfight at the OK Corral With Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday. She finds a home dealing poker in the Doggie House, the saloon/whorehouse. She soon becomes a close friends with Doc Holliday, who is suffering from a lingering cough. She also befriends: Jackie Chu - a Chinese man who owns a laundry store, Clara Barton - a very friendly, but homely, woman, and Delores - the rather large-breasted saloon singer. Henry James pays frequent visits to Tombstone and a relationship between he and TJ develops. She decides that she really likes Tombstone and needs to come up with the money to purchase the Doggie House from the owner. To do this, TJ puts out word that there will be a high stakes poker game in Tombstone. Famous gamblers come from all over the U.S. For the first time, TJ becomes nervous about her ability with the cards. Does she have it in her to take it all and buy the Doggie House? Can she save Clara from becoming a whore? Can she help Tombstone become a more respectable place? Only she knows . . .

The Legend of Tommy Jo Sanchez is a historical romance taking place in the wild west and was written by Billie Bierer. It is a western tale set in the Arizona during the 1880's. It revolves around a half Texan / half Mexican woman with red hair who is a gambler that has a dream to own her own saloon.

When TJ stabbed El Capitan in the first chapter, I knew I was going to like her as a main character. The wild west was a rough place and I have read a lot of books with strong leading cowboys. It is nice to read about a woman who is not afraid to stand up for her beliefs and back them up with action. Tommy Jo Sanchez is definitely that type of woman. Billie Bierer does a wonderful job of portraying two famous men from history: Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday, although Doc has a much larger role than Wyatt. I felt that I really got to know Doc a lot better and I loved all of the characters created by the author. Tombstone comes alive in the pages of The Legend of Tommy Jo Sanchez, which made we really wish i had been there. The pace of the book is perfect with just enough action to keep the reader quickly turning the pages. The character development is good and I quite enjoyed getting to really know TJ. Overall, The Legend of Tommy Jo Sanchez is a great book and I do hope the Billie Bierer writes another western tale. I will keep my eyes on the horizon hoping to wrangle it in if I see it some day.

I rated this book an 8½ out of 10.

• Lead Library Media Specialist
• Blythewood High School
• Blythewood, SC

Bierer, Billie. 2006. The Legend of Tommy Jo Sanchez. Austin, TX: Rabid Press.

Young Tommy Jo Sanchez arrives in Tombstone, Arizona after stabbing a high ranking Mexican soldier, El Capitan, and stealing his grand black stallion from Juarez, Mexico. TJ, the daughter of a Juarez prostitute, has inherited the fiery red hair of the Texan father that she never knew. This fast paced tale of how Tommy Jo Sanchez becomes a legend features other well-known figures of the Old West such as Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday. Like the other legends of Tombstone, TJ has a talent for gambling and sets out to turn her dreams into reality through the fortunes found at the gambling tables of the Western saloons. TJ finds love and acceptance among her adopted family, Holliday, Earp and the “working girls” of the Doggie House Saloon. TJ is determined to make a better life for herself as well as the other women without falling into the same existence as her deceased mother. She is forced to defend her prized stallion when several harrowing attempts are made to reclaim him. TJ must also deal with the harsh life in a male-dominated West which includes encounters with Apache and other dangers. Despite the advances of many men because of her unique beauty, TJ is drawn to a young Buffalo Soldier who tests her loyalty and trust. Filled with characters from every aspect of the Wild West, The Legend of Tommy Jo Sanchez is a fascinating tale that will have you longing to see this heroine defeat all of the obstacles placed before her and realize her dreams.

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Book Review The Legend of Tommy Jo Sanchez by Billie Bierer Rabid Press

High drama describes each page of this fascinating love story. I focused my reading of The Legend of Tommy Jo Sanchez on her love interest – Lt. Henry James, U.S. Army. At one point, the love Tommy Jo felt for this Buffalo Soldier reminded me of West Point Military Academy’s first black graduate, Lt. Henry O. Flipper. In 1882, Flipper was convicted of “conduct unbecoming an officer.” His release may have been linked to his love interest. In Bierer’s story, when Lt. Henry James hurt TJ, her friends called him ugly and no-account but TJ’s hurt became her refuge.

Bierer uses descriptive language to draw the reader into each page of her story. From the beginning – stealing El Capitan’s stallion, encountering Indians, and dining with cowboys, TJ‘s heart opens up to a handsome mulatto Buffalo Soldier. She’s a young woman from a hard life who knows the game of poker but every meeting between the two is filled with tenderness. TJ’s friends are full of energy, opinions, knowledge, and strategy. Business deals - underhanded and legitimate intertwine between every page. TJ Sanchez is adventurous – fighting, stabbing, repairing lost dreams for her friends, connecting with the Chinese family, helping deliver babies, riding on rough grounds with her stolen horse - Raven, traveling by train, and even attempting to attend the symphony unescorted… all of her experiences and emotions are linked to her own insecurities. TJ’s pain is easy to understand but she seems to always be thinking about her next move. When jolted from her horse during a lightening storm, she didn’t waste much time trying to keep the Doggie House alive. A reader might think that TJ had issues with “trust and independence.”

This historical romantic fiction can be enjoyed by all - students, researchers, strategists, horse lovers and even poets. I was entertained by the details… from the poker games with high stakes to the historical western locations… TJ and her friends (and enemies) frequented bars and brothels in Tombstone, the courthouse in Bisbee, and military treks from Ft. Huachuca to Ft. Bowie. The hustle and bustle in San Francisco’s Chinatown painted clear images of busy buyers, sellers, and workers. The level of detail makes the story real and there’s a lot of truth in fiction!

When the story highlighted the healing and bartering between the Buffalo Soldier and the American Indian, this same difficult relationship is indicated in historical documents. Bierer writes…Henry and the young Indian, Hawk, eat “bacon, beans and biscuits” while discussing our human nature to be planners vs. men of action. Reciprocal learning is mixed in many adventures. Hawk’s sickness adds intensity and reveals the prejudices of that time. Nevertheless, Tommy Jo Sanchez and Henry James put the pieces of their lives together in Paradise. An action-packed, historically-correct romance. I savored every page.